The University of Iowa is in the early stages of planning a new cancer research building on the west side of campus. As announced in a Tuesday morning release, the proposed facility aims to advance cancer research and enhance collaboration across the UI’s health sciences colleges and programs.
The UI will seek approval from the Iowa Board of Regents to move forward with planning the new facility at the board’s Sept. 18–19 meeting in Ames.
Two potential locations on the west side of campus are under consideration: the Medical Education Building site and the Westlawn site, both of which were previously identified in the UI’s 10-year master plan.
“Iowa has one of the fastest-growing rates of new cancers in the country,” said Denise Jamieson, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Carver College of Medicine, in the release. “This project will allow UI Health Care to remain competitive in both recruitment and retention of world-class faculty, staff, and trainees.”
UI Health Care’s clinical cancer care is provided through the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, which has held a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation since 2000 — the highest federal recognition a cancer center can receive. The designation highlights the center’s contributions to cancer research and its role in preventing, detecting, and treating cancer.
The UI’s cancer-related research and services are currently spread across several buildings between UI Health Care and the Carver College of Medicine. As stated in the release, these spaces for cancer research are fully occupied, limiting the potential for expansion and recruitment of new faculty.
“This project reflects the deep commitment of the university in supporting the needs of our state through education and research,” said UI President Barbara Wilson, in the release. “Building new labs that support our faculty, staff, and trainees will move forward research that will impact the lives of Iowans.”
A formal space analysis for the project will be conducted in the coming months, though no further details were specified in the release.
